BRICS TAKES ON US DOLLAR DOMINANCE

Trump concerned countries want to undermine currency

- PULE MAKGALE

SOME people may be wondering why the US president has been acting out in recent months, threatening to impose tariffs, at times in a seemingly excessive manner.

Economists and political analysts suggest that one of the main reasons for Donald Trump's economic rhetoric is the United States' concern that BRICS countries are initiating a strategic plan to undermine the dollar, a process some observers refer to as "de-dollarisation".

The BRICS grouping includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa and a few other countries that joined in the past couple of years.

It all started in Kazan, Russia, during the 16th BRICS summit last year when these countries unveiled a symbolic BRICS banknote, unleashing hot debate regarding the US dollar's dominance. At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasised that the dollar is being used as a "weapon."

A year before, meanwhile, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva proposed creating a new, common currency in South America to reduce its reliance on the dollar in international trade. India has also been advocating for local currency settlements among BRICS nations.

The unveiling of the BRICS currency bill, featuring the Taj Mahal, added controversy, as the bloc explores challenging the US dollar's global financial power.

Despite research showing that the US dollar remains the primary reserve currency, Trump would take none of that as he continued his criticism of BRICS.

"We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly hostile countries that they will neither create a new BRICS currency, nor back any other currency to replace the mighty US dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs," he wrote in his Social Truth platform in January.

The statement was similar to the one he posted last November.